Box Score JERSEY CITY, N.J. – Despite career nights by Quadir Welton (Philadelphia, Pa./Math, Civivs and Science Charter) and Elisha Boone (Laurelton, N.Y./Abraham Lincoln), Iona defeated Saint Peter's 75-67 in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) men's basketball action on Monday night.
Welton finished the game with 19 points after connecting on 5 of 7 shots from the floor and 9 of 11 from the free throw line to surpass his career-best of 18 points against Siena on Dec. 6. The junior, who added seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks, has posted double figures in points in eight-straight games.
Boone reached double figures in points for the first time this season and for the second time in his career after going 6-for-11 from the floor and 3 of 7 from the charity stripe for a personal-best 15 points. Boone, who added seven rebounds, four steals and a block, registered 11 points against Canisius on Dec. 3, 2015 for his previous game high in points.
Trevis Wyche (Neptune, N.J./Saint Peter's Prep) posted 15 points, seven rebounds and two steals for the Peacocks (8-12, 6-5 MAAC) in the loss.
A.J. English powered the Gaels (12-9, 9-3 MAAC) with 21 points while Deyshonne Much recorded 14 points and Jordan Washington added 12 points and eight rebounds in the winning effort.
Iona took the lead early in the game and held on after a comeback attempt by Saint Peter's to go on for the victory and earn the season sweep.
With the game tied at 2, powered by six points by Washington the Gaels went on a 16-7 run to take an 18-9 advantage with 14:06 left in the half.
Chazz Patterson (Brown Mills, N.J./Trenton Catholic), who finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds, stopped the run with a 3-pointer at 11:51.
After Boone hit 1 of 2 at the free throw line to trim the margin to 22-15, Iona rolled off a 17-7 run to take a 39-22 margin with 2:55 on the clock thanks to eight points by English. Cameron Jones (Fairless Hills, Pa./Pennsbury) drained a trey with 2:52 on the clock and Wyche drained a jumper at 2:13, but the Gaels went into the locker room with a 41-27 lead.
In the second half, the Peacocks cut the margin to nine points after two charity tosses by Welton at 15:36 only to see Iona use a 12-1 run to extend the margin to 59-39 with 10:44 left in the contest. Jahaad Proctor led the charge with four points in this stretch.
Saint Peter's clawed back with a 28-13 run to pull within five points with 27 seconds left. The key to the run was an 11-2 spurt to trim a 14-point deficit to 72-67.
Wyche started the run with a jumper at 2:24 before Welton made two at the line at 1:38. Patterson and Boone followed with layups to cut the deficit to 70-64 with 57 ticks remaining. After Aaron Roundtree made two free throws, Jones nailed his second triple of the evening with 27 seconds left to make it a five-point game, but the Gaels hit 3 of 4 from the free throw line to seal the win.
Wyche and Welton both moved into seventh place on a career chart list. Wyche jumped into seventh with 326 career assists while Welton moves into seventh place in career blocks with 85. Wyche has posted seven assists in six of his last eight games and needs one assist to reach 100 helpers for the third-straight season.
After winning three-straight league games and four of five tilts, the Peacocks have lost its last four games. The squad remains in fourth place with a 6-5 record, a half game ahead of Fairfield (6-6) in the standings.
Saint Peter's returns to action on Friday against Siena at the Times Union Center on ESPNU. Tip-off is 9 p.m. After the Peacocks battle the Saints, who are in third place with an 8-4 record, the squad will return to the Yanitelli Center for four-straight home games.
